Passover (Pesach)
A Jewish holiday, one of the most important and significant celebrated in Israel.
Its essence was determined thousands of years ago, centering on the expression of feelings of freedom and redemption for the Jewish people. This feeling is prominently expressed on the opening night of the holiday, which is especially ceremonial, especially familial, and carries distinct hallmarks of Jewish tradition. This tradition has been passed down from generation to generation since the Jews solidified into a nation, and it has barely changed.
During the rest of the holiday days, everyone celebrates or spends time according to their Jewish worldview and the sector to which they belong – religious or traditional, reform or secular.
Passover is usually celebrated in April, and sometimes in March.
Its exact date is determined by the Hebrew calendar (the 14th of Nisan), and the gap between this calendar and the Gregorian calendar shifts the holiday days, each year, to a different global date.
It's also called "Chag HaAviv" (Holiday of Spring), and such it is: its position between the winter and summer seasons ensures weather that is unpredictable and ranges from heatwaves and haze to cold and rain.
The Passover holiday lasts seven days, officially and religiously, but it stretches over additional days before and after, and the entire period influences the Israeli daily routine.
In the week leading up to the holiday, commercial activity gains momentum, and as the "Seder Night" ceremony approaches, there's a lively movement of shoppers in stores. In workplaces, people rush to close matters, and what isn't closed – will be postponed until "after the holiday."
The most significant day of the holiday is the first day, and even more significant – the evening preceding it, which is part of it according to the Hebrew calendar and Jewish Halachic (law) rules.
This is Leil HaSeder (Seder Night), which officially opens the celebrations.
At sunset, family members, friends, relatives, and anyone invited in advance gather together. Everyone is dressed in holiday clothes (men wear a Kippah), sitting together around a table set with traditional food items, unique to all days of the holiday. During the ceremonial evening, conducted in the spirit of Jewish tradition, the assembled read chapters from an ancient Jewish text passed down from generation to generation, called the "Haggadah shel Pesach" (Passover Haggadah – the traditional Jewish text). Afterward, they partake in a hearty meal prepared by the hosts.
Most Israelis find a set table on Seder Night – with family or friends, in a small or large circle. Those who don't belong to either of these groups find a place in organized ceremonies at hotels or event halls, by public authorities and private entities.
Seder Night ceremonies end in the late hours of the night. Everyone goes to sleep and wakes up to a new morning from which activities diverge:
Religious and traditional observers – will continue to celebrate all the following holiday days according to Jewish tradition, with unique prayers and mass gatherings, and will dedicate the following days to family recreation.
Secular individuals – will go out for hike and vacation in Israel and abroad, taking full advantage of the long break known by all as: Passover vacation.
Throughout the entire holiday period, eating habits change throughout Israel.
Regular bread is almost unavailable in stores and supermarkets, as are Pita and other baked goods based on normally processed wheat flour – all these are defined as "Hhametz" (leavened products), which are forbidden to eat on Passover, according to Jewish tradition.
Bread producers, large bakeries, patisseries, and bakeries – close their doors until the seventh day of Passover passes, and only at its conclusion does the holiday end, and it is possible to return to routine and eat chametz.
During this period, for seven full days, the national substitute for bread is Matzah.
Matzah is a type of baked good that looks like a flat, perforated sheet, sold in every supermarket and snatched up before and during the holiday. Matzah has no unique taste, and it is simply flour that has hardened during baking according to ancient traditional recipe rules. Matzah is hard to digest, high in calories... yet it is the national food of Israel throughout all seven days of the Passover holiday.
Religious and traditional observers will strictly eat only matzah, and will even find recipes that diversify its taste.
Secular individuals will be less strict. Some will hoard types of bread and baked goods defined as "chametz" in their kitchen cabinets from before the holiday, and use them during it. Others surrender to tradition and give in to matzah.
But if they encounter pita or bread in an Arab-sector community or on a visit abroad – they won't hesitate to buy and eat it.
Children eating what's available on Passover – matzah
The seven days of Passover are official work holidays, according to Israeli law, and the day before and the day after are added to it, during which the education system is already inactive and workplaces have sparse attendance.
And when parents aren't at work, and children aren't studying – nature sites flourish for recreation and leisure, music festivals and other arts are held, malls are full, and roads are congested.
In recent decades, the brisk movement at Ben Gurion Airport has been very prominent. The airport fills with travelers going abroad, and aircraft traffic increases throughout the vacation days until the holiday ends and brings all travelers back.
For more on Passover – Click here or
on Wikipedia, all the full details in the category: Passover.
Israeli Knowledge Bites on Passover:
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Intermediate Days (Chol HaMoed - חול המועד) : A religious definition for the five middle days, between the first and last day of the holiday. For religious people, these are days with an unusual character – a bit mundane and a bit holy. They celebrate but within permissible religious restrictions.
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Common Question before Passover: "Eifo Atem BaLeil HaSeder?" (Where are you on Seder Night?). A common Israeli question, assuming the asked have found a family to host them, or that they are the hosts themselves.
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A Question that is a 'riddle/challenge' with a song: "Ma Nishtana?" (The most well-known song from the Seder Night ceremony).
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National Dish in Ashkenazi Homes: Kneidlach (Matzah balls).
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Cause for Conflict between Religious and Secular: Food defined as "chametz" and its presence in the public sphere. This is a loaded topic because of which a government in Israel has already fallen (2022). Its fault: it didn't strictly enforce the absence of chametz in hospitals.
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Passover Sight in Supermarkets: Shelves with "chametz" foods covered with cloth sheets. This happens because food products defined as such remain in stores but are not sold, out of respect for Jewish religion and tradition.
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Sight in Arab Communities in Israel: Secular Jews who aren't strict about kosher-for-Passover foods come to buy pita, which cannot be obtained anywhere else.
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Insight for Travelers Abroad: Passover is a tourist season, and flight prices are particularly expensive.
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Insight for Local Vacationers: All hotel rooms are booked six months in advance.
1968 – Passover Seder ceremony
in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek
Many Israelis celebrate Seder night even when abroad.
Here at a Chabad House in Kathmandu, Nepal (2018)
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